Dr Pierre Voges, Acting CEO of the Atlantis Special Economic Zone (SEZ), and Iemrahn Hassen, the Commercial Executive, shared Atlantis SEZ milestones since its launch by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 6 December 2018.
Dr Voges said the SEZ collaborative work between DTIC, Western Cape Provincial Government and City of Cape Town goes back to the Atlantis Revitalisation Plan of 2011 and the 2013 green manufacturing Hub, renewable energy procurement and green manufacturing incentives of the City of Cape Town.
The Atlantis SEZ location, good infrastructure, good governance and the dual focus on investment and community benefit will make the Atlantis SEZ successful, Voges said. The biggest milestone achieved was the recent land transfer by the City to the SEZ, he said. “The City of Cape Town has agreed to transfer its SEZ designated land to the Atlantis SEZ, in exchange for shareholding, and this innovative approach is the first of its kind and has been recognised nationally as good practice.
“The Atlantis SEZ’s passion for developing the Atlantis community through its skills and enterprise development programmes and employment creation is something we focus on as are the company’s plans to support local SMMEs through the skills development programmes that are currently being planned. We still have a lot of challenges and we still have a long road to travel, and we cannot expect results overnight, but we are committed to making this SEZ a success for all.”
